Working The Vegan Program

Yesterday I wrote about recovery and the need to "work the program" regardless of which program or path we chose to gain sobriety and insight. I actually began yesterdays post thinking of "recovering vegans" and their need to speak loudly against a dietary system they believe failed them. It seems to me that many of them (if not all) did not fail on a vegan diet but failed to work the program. Changing a dietary structure that one has been following for a lifetime is no simple or easy task to accomplish. It takes research, planning, foresight and determination that -I WILL MAKE THIS WORK - and it does work. Countless people have proven so and quite a few have been world class athletes. I believe that those who have been faced with an ethical challenge of meat eating will be the ones who may best succeed for the long haul. For them there IS no other option then veganism. As an athlete I feel very fortunate that it is an ethical issue for me - I no longer wish to be a cog in an endless wheel of suffering - and it has given me a tremendous boost as an endurance athlete. I have no doubt that I could make this diet work even if I returned to kettlebell sport, bodybuilding or simply heavy lifting - all activities I have practiced before on different levels. Mike Arnstein just ran 235 miles in less then a week - the Badwater Ultra through Death Valley and  just three days later the Vermont 100, hist wife won the Vermont 100k (her first ultra) Carl Lewis won several Gold Medals and Robert Cheeke is a competitive bodybuilder - they're all vegans. They know how to work the program. My point here isn't to disparage anyone who has failed on a vegan diet but to point out that the failure has more to do with them then it does the diet. If you want to make it work - for any reason be it sports, health, or ethics - then you will find a way past the challenges to the optimum way that works for you. Or you can give up and complain and make videos discouraging others from even trying. One choice pays more highly then the other. Choose wisely.

Peace,
Eric